CONCORD, CA – Fresh off being named the No. 1 on Wednesday in the Maxpreps Xcellent 25 national rankings Archbishop Mitty put on a show in a 71-28 dismantling of Chaminade-Mission Hills in its West Coast Jamboree Platinum Division opener at Clayton Valley on Thursday night.
Prep2Prep Central Coast Section top ranked Mitty (10-0) left little doubt about its prowess after storming to a 13-0 lead and never looking back against a team that was the 2015 CIF Open Division champions.
Reigning Cal-Hi Sports State Junior of the Year and Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year leading candidate Haley Jones put on a display of dribbling, passing and smooth moves that left several Chaminade defenders faked out of their sneakers and prompted one fan to blurt out “it’s just not fair.” The 6-1 ESPNW No. 1 rated junior wing and No. 5 ranked junior in the nation overall finished with a double-double 19 points, six steals and four assists – and she did it in less than three quarters of action
Despite also playing less then three quarters herself Penn State-bound Karisma Ortiz also had 19 points with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
University of San Diego-bound 6-2 post Nicole Blakes, who has been turning heads with her stellar play to start the season, added 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Hunter Hernandez, a 5-9 guard that is only the fourth freshman to start in the 26-year tenure of Monarchs Coach Sue Phillips, chipped in with 10 points.
Chaminade (5-3) was led by Jasmine Moore with eight points.
Mitty is now into the semifinals where the Monarchs meet Bishop O’Dowd on Friday at 6:30 at Clayton Valley. The teams met in a season opener for Mitty with the Monarchs prevailing 86-52 on the road in Oakland
O’Dowd moves into semis with a solid win
Although Bishop O’Dowd never trailed and the game was only tied once at 2-2, the Platinum Division first round matchup with West Campus was close throughout the first half with the Dragons only leading 36-29 after two quarters.
West Campus closed to 36-32 to open the third quarter but from there O’Dowd took charge with a 25-7 run to lead 61-39 and coasted home in a 70-55 victory.
Senior Zakiya Mahoney led O’Dowd (3-6) with 19 points. Junior Jada Holland and sophomore Daylee Dunn added 10 points apiece.
West Campus (6-5) got a game-high 22 points from sophomore Gabby Rones and 19 points from UCLA-bound senior KJ Jefferson.
Salesian and Folsom advance
In other Platinum Division action P2P NCS top-ranked Salesian posted a 74-61 victory over Sacramento, and Folsom was a 57-46 winner over Prep2Prep North Coast Section No. 4 Carondelet.
Folsom and Sacramento will square off in the 8:00 p.m. semifinal at Clayton Valley
